When clients call you while you are tending other pets it can be distracting, can’t it?
And it’s worse when they call you during your free time. What if you have pet sitters working for you, and the client calls you claiming your pet sitter did not show up for a scheduled appointment? It becomes a case of “he said, she said.” Worse yet are those moments when a client ‘thinks’ she called to schedule care but actually forgot to call and consequently her pets have not had food or water for at least 24 hours. This can be reality in the life of a Professional Pet Sitter.
Thanks to some cool technology, Pet Sitters can communicate with their clients automatically, letting them know they arrived at the client’s home in a timely fashion; this comes with the added benefits of limiting liability for pet sitters and the ability to provide a guarantee of service. This convenience also has benefits for your clients. You see, the truth is, even if unspoken, pet parents do worry about their pets when they are away.
In a survey over 120 people, pet parents were asked about which method of pet care they used and why. Of the most telling responses was “I only travel if I can take my pets with me because I’ve had bad experiences with boarding and pet sitting.” (Kelly B, Tucson, AZ).
Terry O. of San Francisco wrote, “ I had a friend use a recommended pet sitter for her cat when she had the opportunity to travel abroad. Fortunately her daughter went to check in on things about 3 days after she left. It did not appear that the pet sitter had even been there once……..When confronted she claimed she lost the key to the house….but never bothered to try contacting the homeowner who did have access to her vm [voicemail] while gone…..this gal has been doing pet sitting for years according to the info received…a fluke? took on too much business? I don’t know how you can protect your selves and animals from someone like that. “
You know you are not going to do something like this and you hope your clients know this isn’t going to happen. And while your clients do trust you there is an unspoken truth…we are all human. We get sick, we have car accidents, we forget and ‘stuff’ happens. And when it happens, pets and others in your care can be negatively affected. When you are upfront about the ‘what ifs’ and when you provide a solution, you will gain the trust and affection of your clients very quickly.
Managing employees is one of the biggest challenges of any business, especially when they work in locations that are remote. Your reputation is at risk each time you hire someone to represent you. Using a method to be alerted if they do not show, a method to provide proof to clients who question their presence at their location (no more ‘he said she said’), and a method by which you can measure their performance is just smart business.
The solution comes in the form of a new web service called PETZcheckIN.com. PETZcheckIN.com allows you to provide a guarantee of service (a true guarantee, not one in name only) plus automate your client communications, and provides a way for you to expand your business with little risk. You will have decreased fiscal liability when you can provide 3rd party proof you were at a client’s home and the duration of time you spent with the pets. Contact the folks at PETZcheckIN today and they’ll send you a code for a free trial of the service.
The Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy helps hundreds of pet sitters create successful, lucrative and ease-filled businesses each year.
Below is just one of our many success stories!
Name: Lois Kelly
Business Name: Four Paws Pet Sitting Services, LLC
City and State: Raleigh, NC
Website: www.4PawsPetSitting.com
Do you remember the approximate month and year when you first called Kristin Morrison and The Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy for help in your pet sitting business?
Oh wow, I think almost 5 years ago.
What issues were you having in your business when you first contacted Kristin Morrison and the Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy?
I think I must have spoken to Kristin at truly the right time. I can’t remember why I called the Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy that first time but for some reason I called.
I wasn’t having any trouble but I think the reason I called was that I just wanted to grow and not do it myself. I was at the point where my business had grown and I would have to service a smaller area or hire. I had a few people working for me at the time. I would have been one of those business owners with burn out but I talked to Kristin before that ever happened! Lucky me. I was very fortunate and learned a lot immediately.
What is one of the ways that the Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy helped you in your business?
I always knew to set goals and write them down but in the Catapult! Pet Sitting Business Success class Kristin had us write down the exact figure of what I wanted to make in 2009. I had that figure in front of me on my desk in a little frame. I looked at it often. Next to it I had my basic steps of what I had to do to get to that goal.
I had a plan and stuck to it. Even if I only took 10 minutes working on the computer I did something towards working on my goal.
I love that Kristin can pinpoint issues and implement a plan so quickly. She does not waste any time.
What was your yearly gross total in 2008?
$72,000
What was your yearly gross total in 2009?
I grossed $168,00 in 2009.
My goal was $123,000 after being in your class in 2008.
In one year you grossed over double of what you’d grossed the year before?
Yes.
What has been the most important change you have made in the way you run or manage your business?
I have a purpose in mind. I have not been doing visits myself for a few years thanks to Kristin and I am proactive in my business. I think one thing I did was hire and then go after finding business in the area where I hired.
I am now truly having fun and loving this business.
Is there anything else about your business success that you would like to share?
I did not immediately buy into what Kristin was saying but I followed what she said and I am so happy I did.
I hired an office manager. It is really hard to let go but oh so worth it! I learned that I did not have to be tied down.
I now have 27 sitters.
Attention pet sitter: Are YOU ready to create six-figure pet sitting business success in YOUR pet sitting business? Click to find out more and to sign up for coaching sessions with Kristin Morrison, founder of the Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy.
Hey Pet Sitters: there’s still time to save $10 on the July 27 Secrets for Pet Sitting Business Success Teleclass if you sign up by July 20.
After July 20 the price will go up to $30 (still a steal for the amount of information you will get that will help you rocked your pet sitting business to success!)
Click here to find out more and to sign up for the Secrets for Pet Sitting Business Success Teleclass.
I got an email today that inspired me to write a blog post.
Thanks Emi!
Here’s the email I received:
Hi Kristin,
I purchased your online product Business Hiring Kit: For Hiring Pet Sitting/Dog Walking Staff ™ two days ago and have been very pleased with the content.
One of my main hurdles is how to tell my current clients, that I have been taking care of myself for the past year, that I am going to transition from being the owner/dog walker/pet sitter to just the owner with hired staff to cover the pet sitting and dog walking.
Do you have any suggestions on how to make this transition smooth and professional?
Thanks,
Emi
Sniff and Go Dog Walking and Pet Services
Here’s my response:
Hi Emi,
Nice to hear from you. 
I’m so glad you are happy with the Hiring Kit. I developed it years ago to use in my own pet sitting business and it has helped me hire top-notch pet sitters and dog walkers in my own pet sitting business. I currently have 30 great pet sitters on staff, all of whom I’ve hired through using the Hiring Kit. I have heard from lots of other pet sitters that my Hiring Kit has helped them hire great people too. I love hearing that.
Yes, I do have 5 suggestions for making the transition easier:
1) Share the jobs for awhile with your new staff. If you are hiring dog walkers continue walking on M/W/F and having your new walker walk T/TH.
2) Go to at least 3-5 of the client interviews when your staff meets your clients. After that the staff member should be able to go on his/her own.
3) When clients call about particular sits and you are going to put new staff members in say, “I’d love to help you but unfortunately I’m not available for those dates. I have a wonderful assistant that is. Would you like me to set up a time to have you meet my assistant?” If you are sharing the job say: “I’m available for some of those dates. For the dates I’m not available I have a wonderful assistant.”
4) Have your clients pay you via mailing a check or giving you their credit card information. Don’t have them leave checks for your assistant to pick up. It creates more work for your assistant.
5) Be sure to use a client questionnaire when staff members do sits on their own. Mail it to clients with a self-addressed stamped envelope so they will feel compelled to return it. The Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy sells a client service questionnaire or you can create your own.
Have your questionnaire be simple enough that it will just take clients only a minute or two to fill it out the form and send it back to you with their comments. Having a self-addressed stamped envelope will compel them to mail back the questionnaire! I’ve found the online questionnaires to be less effective for client response so mail the questionnaire to them.
Sending out questionnaires will help you get feedback on how your new staff member is doing. It’s often easier for clients to write out their feedback than pick up the phone to let you know what their experience was like in using your new staff member. Keep it simple for them and for you!
A final note about the questionnaire: share the feedback, both good and bad, with your staff. The positive feedback will keep your staff motivated and the negative feedback will get them back on the right track.
Hope this information helps, Emi!
I’ve been on nearly a hundred pet sitting business coaching calls in the past few weeks.
It’s been really great to work with some of you after being gone for so long.
As much as I love traveling (and I really, really love it!) I do love coming back and diving into my life here. It is so gratifying to work with pet sitters from around the country who are hungry to grow their businesses so that they can lead rich, meaningful and fulfilling lives both professionally and personally.
I was talking with a friend the other day about money. We were engaged in a discussion about her recent business venture which resulted in a big profit. My face lit up with happiness over her financial success.
She smiled and said to me, “Kristin, you love money.”
I thought about it for a minute and then I said:
“Yes, it’s true I do love money,” I replied. “But money in and of itself would be so boring and unsatisfying. It’s flat and kind of an ugly color green. It’s what money gives me and my coaching clients that is really where the excitement is for me.”
Mostly it comes down to freedom. To me, having enough money equals freedom. The freedom to travel around the world. Money provides the resources and the time to be able to live my life in a way that feels really right for me. To live my life in a way that really suits me.
What about for you? What does money equal for you? For everyone it is so different.
Part of my coaching involves determining the WHY of money for the person I’m working with.
When I can help them see what they can create in their lives if they have more money things usually happen pretty quickly. They begin to do the action steps I’ve given them. Their bank account grows. They are able to hire more help and create more space in their life.
And what my coaching clients want from money isn’t more things. Sheesh. We all have enough things now, don’t we?
Some of my clients want enough money so they have more time.
Time to sit with their kid on their lap and eat cookies together in the warm sunshine.
Sometimes it’s all about taking the trip they’ve always dreamed of taking. Having enough money and time to go on that Alaskan cruise or that trek through the jungle in Peru which will inevitably bring them closer to their spouse or themselves.
Sometimes it’s about wanting to create stability: being able to buy a house or provide for their family.
It’s not about the money.
It’s what is created from the money.
If you want to make more money in your pet sitting and dog walking business to provide the kind of life that is meaningful for YOU there is still time to sign up for Tuesday’s teleclass: Get Pet Sitting Clients NOW: Marketing that Works.
Teleclass: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST
Click here to sign up now for the “Get Pet Sitting Clients NOW: Marketing that Works” teleclass.
Marketing. It’s a word that often causes business owners to groan.
There are so many advertising options and a lot of those options are expensive. Google ad words. Pay-per-Click Advertising (also called PPC). Pet sitting directories. Online Yellow Page advertising. The list goes on and on of possible marketing options available to pet sitters.
What really works though?
What marketing actions do you really need to take to have your business phone ring with new client calls month after month?
Whether you are new to pet sitting or have been pet sitting for years, you will learn exactly what you need to do to get your phone to ring!
On this powerful upcoming teleclass you will learn:
* What is an absolute must when it comes to online advertising
* Why adding a couple of words in your business name will dramatically increase the amount of business you can get
* Top 5 inexpensive advertising options that will generate results for your business.
* Simple steps to increase your search engine ranking on Google
* Free marketing strategies that will rocket you to success
* Why making one (little) change will make all the difference
* Inexpensive advertising solutions that cause your phone to ring
* And much more!
You will come away with:
* A marketing strategy that you are excited to implement immediately
* A list of 75 FREE websites to market your pet sitting business online
* A clear knowing of what marketing works and what doesn’t
* Inexpensive ideas, tips and tools to launch your new or existing
pet sitting business to success
Details and FAQ about the “Get Pet Sitting Clients NOW: Marketing that Works” Teleclass:
When? Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Time: 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST
How long is this teleclass? 60 minutes (there will be time for Q & A from the audience)
How Much? $20 (register by June 15) / $30 (restister June 16 or later)
How: Conference Call instructions will be given upon sign-up!
Okay, this sounds great! How do I sign up? It’s easy! Just click to sign up now for the Get Pet Sitting Clients NOW: Marketing that Works teleclass page.
Hello pet sitters,
I will be leading the next NAPPS teleconference on Monday, May 17 at 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST.
My topic will be “How to Recover from Pet Sitter’s Burnout”. This is a topic I have successfully dealt with in my own pet sitting business. I’ve also coached hundreds of pet sitters from across the country on this very prevalent issue.
It’s a topic that I’m very passionate about and I’m really excited to ’see’ NAPPS members on the call.
Please note: this teleconference is only open to NAPPS members.
If you are a NAPPS member and need information on how to access the May 17th teleconference please contact NAPPS directly at: (856) 439-0324. They will be happy to give you the conference call number.
I look forward to “seeing” you on the teleconference,
Kristin Morrison
Founder, Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy.com
Hello dear pet sitters,
When I was planning my trip I had anticipated writing many Six-Figure blog posts and keeping all of you in the loop about my traveling adventures.
Once I started my travels I quickly realized that the purpose of this trip, for me, was to not be tapped into work at all except for the brief emails with my managers who are running the pet sitting portion of my business.
I’m definitely looking forward to diving into work when I return to America: taking over the reins of my pet sitting company from my managers who have done such a good job managing in my absence, scheduling one-on-one coaching sessions, facilitating my group teleclasses and working on and completing my book for pet sitters.
But for now…I’m in Bali and really enjoying taking cooking classes, learning Indonesian from a local man, and meeting many other local Balinese and fellow travelers.
Just wanted to check in and let you know that I’m looking forward to working with you again when I return. I’ll post the exact date I’ll be back in action on this blog in a couple of weeks.
Happy pet sitting,
Kristin
Hello pet sitters!
I’m sitting at an Internet cafe in India and just wanted to check in.
I’ve been away for three weeks now: first in Bali and then a week ago I arrived in India.
This has been an incredible (and in some ways life-changing) trip so far and I still have 7 weeks that I’ll be traveling.
I met some incredible local people in Bali who really took me under their wings and invited me to temple ceremonies and to share meals together. Meeting these wonderful local people helped me really immerse myself in Balinese local culture in a way that I never anticipated.
The inner and outer beauty of the Balinese people was lovely to experience. The natural beauty and lushness of Bali was also a real gift.
I’ll be heading back there in 4 weeks to experience 3 more weeks there before I head home in April. I’m thrilled to go back to Bali as, in some ways, it feels like ‘home’.
India…is another story.
I arrived in Pune, India a week ago and there was a bombing at a restaurant that I was considering going to the same night it was bombed.
Instead of going to the restaurant I chose to meditate in the ashram I was staying at.
Had I been in the restaurant I would have been either injured or killed as everyone who was there experienced some type of injury.
The last count, according to the media reports, was that 11 people were killed and 60 people were injured. Everyone who survived the blast lost all or partial hearing in the bomb blast plus many other injuries.
I’ve never come this close to major injury or death and having this experience has helped me get in touch with, on a deeper level than ever, what is really important in this life.
I’ll be leaving Pune tomorrow and going to a beach town south of Pune (13 hours train ride from Pune).
Relaxing near the water after all the activity of Indian police and Indian army, not to mentioned the frayed nerves of the tourists and locals, will be a good thing!
On a lighter note, I have noticed how challenging it is for me NOT to go online on a daily basis. Even though I have not done any Six-Figure blogging or any work-related Internet activities, I have done A LOT of personal emails and personal Facebook checking while I’ve been away.
I’ve been exploring what it is like to not log on for one day and let me tell you: it is challenging.
So my next edge is to try not log on for a couple of days at a time.
It’s harder than it sounds! I encourage you to try it.
I notice even though not logging on for a day is challenging I feel so much more involved in life when I’m not logging on for 24 hours at a time.
Even today, I’ve somehow managed to be online for nearly 2 hours! 2 hours that could best be spent exploring this city that I won’t be in for much longer.
And on a final note:
Though I deeply love my work (working with all of you is SUCH a gift as is running my pet sitting business) I’m experiencing how deeply restorative it is to my soul it is to not work for a long period of time.
I wish you all a wonderful rest of February. I may or may not check in again in March.
If not, I’ll be back in action in April when I return from my travels!
Take good care,
Kristin
It’s usually pretty slow in the pet sitting industry in January. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays that have just passed this can be welcome relief. For others you may be wishing/needing new business now to keep up with expenses that ocurred over the holidays.
No matter where you are: busy or not busy, glad it’s slow, not glad it’s slow, there are some very specific tasks that you can and should do this month to insure business success all year long.
Here they are:
1) Pay your Q4 2009 estimated tax payment by January 15 for both State and Federal taxes. It’s important to get in the habit of keeping current with taxes for each calendar year or you will be faced with hefty penalties and interest if you have not paid enough for 2009 taxes.
2) Begin to set aside money now for your Q1 2010 estimated tax payment that will be due by April 15, 2010. How do you do this? Put an envelope on a bulletin board in your office. Get in the habit of putting a minimum of 10% of whatever total from checks that you receive into that envelope. Next create a tax savings account and every month deposit that money into your tax savings account so when it comes time to pay your quarterly payments you will be breathing easy because guess what? You have the money.
3) Place an ad for staff now and spend leisurely time hiring the perfect staff members. This time of year is the best time to hire people–you are not in a hurry and probably don’t desperately need staff members the way you did, say, over the holidays. You want to hire people when you don’t need them. That way they will be ready to go when you do get busy and your judgment will not be impaired by an intensity of need to fill particular pet sitting jobs.
4) Get those 1099s out in the mail to your staff by January 29, 2010. The government will charge you $50 for each and every 1099 that is not sent out by the end of January.
Next make sure to send your information to the government no later than the end of February or same thing: you will be charged $50 for every 1099 that is received by the government after the end of February. Ouch!
5) Write your goals for this month and for the New Year. Setting goals is one of the most powerful actions you can take in your business. It sounds simple, right? It is. The simple act of writing your goals will help you take actions that will enable you to create what you want this year.
I did it last year at this time as I do every year. But last year I wrote:
I will go on a two month trip in 2010.
I saw that goal there day after day on my bulletin board (it’s very important to post your goals where you can see them) and I began to take big and little actions to support that vision.
A year ago taking this trip was just a pipe dream.
Six months ago I started seriously considering it.
And now I’m going.
You can read more about setting and achieving business goals in my goal setting for pet sitters blog post below.
6) Take the word ‘recession’ out of your vocabulary. That’s right. I know…you turn on the news and it’s recession this and recession that but STOP. Don’t allow yourself to go there or engage in conversations that take you into a downward spiral about the economy.
I can tell you this: for myself and those pet sitting clients that I drilled this into last year: we all had the best year ever!
In a supposed recession.
Why? Because we refused to engage in the conversation of the recession and instead focused on what tasks needed to be done in order to succeed in our businesses.
YOU can have a financially successful year no matter what the media says.
Here’s how: turn off your TV when negative economic news comes on, let friends and family know that you are committed to having the best financial year ever and that you don’t want to talk about a poor economy, when you do get discouraged remember that there are hundreds of other pet sitters across the country who had the BEST YEAR ever in 2009 and that you can create that experience for yourself this year.
Happy 2010 everyone!
2009 The
Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy™ logo and all text by Six-Figure Pet
Sitting Academy™ All Rights Reserved.